Final Fantasy XV: Fun at the Moogle Chocobo Carnival!

A few days ago, Square Enix released a free update to their hit game, Final Fantasy XV. The Moogle Chocobo Carnival can be accessed from the main menu. Therefore, you only need a single save file, at any point in the game, to play it. I recommend using your main save since some items you gain during the carnival will be moved over to your main file.

Impressions

Upon entering the carnival, Noctis is met with Carbuncle, the creature who players first meet in either the tutorial of Final Fantasy XV or the Platinum demo. Carbuncle gives Noctis his first quest, which is to earn enough choco-mog medallions to trade in for a coupon that gives the player a nights stay at the Leville and an exclusive seating for the firework show. You can earn medallions in a few ways; you can earn them by completing quests, playing mini games and finding them around town, but I’ll get to that part later.

Aesthetics

First, I want to talk about the aesthetics of the carnival. Altissia has been completely transformed. Every NPC, building and street is adorned in colorful decorations. The NPCs are talking about things happening at the carnival, adding to the playful atmosphere. The vibrant environment only made me more excited to dive in and see what the carnival had to offer. Just make sure you equip the new outfit that comes with the update; Noctis’s usual black outfit will feel out of place. However, I was a bit disappointed that my bros weren’t by my side. I would have loved to hear some carnival exclusive banter. But, I digress. Noctis is still a good sport without his friends around. I’ll admit, I was a bit giddy wandering around the town. The environment is silly and uplifting, a nice contrast to the adventuring Noctis is doing in the main campaign.

Mini-Games and Firework Show

The mini-games are fun at first, but they get old quickly. There are a few games I came across at the carnival like the chocobo races, a shooting game, a variation of whack a mole (but with a cactuar!), and a moogle dance. My favorite game is where you shoot at a bunch of targets; however, the only problem is that the courses never change. The targets show in the same place, only differing by the difficulty level. So, trying to get 35,000 points got infuriating after a few attempts. It felt like grinding, but I guess that’s Final Fantasy’s charm. The missions are basic as well. Also, fighting is not allowed at the carnival, so Noctis only has a toy sword! As for other games, try visiting Weskham’s restaurant and try being a waiter, or if that’s not your thing, why not try fishing for some prizes?

The icing on the cake for me was the firework show. The first night, I didn’t have enough medallions for the special VIP seating, so I watched from the highest point of Altissia I could find (thanks to Carbuncle’s insistence). Beautiful as it was, nothing tops the close-up firework show you get if you do have the VIP coupon! Though, it’s just not the same taking my own pictures of the firework show without my buddy Prompto along for the ride.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the nagging issue for me was not the repetitiveness (because it’s a small event meant to keep players interested in the game), but my isuue is that Noctis is the only one experiencing the carnival. Especially because Final Fantasy XV’s core theme is friendship. Maybe it’s some kind of dream world separate from the story (as Carbuncle has dragged Noctis off to in the past). Either way, I appreciate the novelty of the add on. The dedication of the Square Enix team shows promise for future DLCs and patches to come.

The Chocobo Moogle Carnival is only running until February 20th, so download the free holiday pack DLC now to get your ticket to the carnival!

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The only thing I love more than video games is writing. I'm a Creative Writing major with a dream of becoming a professional video game writer. You can usually find me around story-driven games, because I love a good plot. When I'm not writing or gaming, I'm crafting, cosplaying and just enjoying life.